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Monday, 6 January 2014

2013 What a Year!!!

Not got around to doing a summing up of the year 2013....till now and quite simply I do not know where to start.

It perhaps wasn't the best start, both Sarah and I started 2013 on crutches...but hey it could only get better hey?
It did give me the chance to take a heap of photo's of the boys out kitesurfing last winter and also visiting pro Lee Pasty Harvey when he ripped the arse of some of our local spots.

It was just as well as the season never really stopped for winter, the snow dumped big time in the Brecon Beacons, I still had my leg in a cast but that wasn't going to stop me, it's not every day we get powder!!

I had my first trip to Cape Verde Islands when me and Wayne did a last minute trip to Boa Vista, unfortunately we didnt score

any classic conditions but we did get our warm water/sunshine fix!

February also saw us score some awesome conditions for the BLAST FROZEN JAM here in Porthcawl, we had a huge turn out of uber keen kitesurfers..you'd have to be just to think of driving across the country in the depths of February huh?

The Blast Frozen Jam

We got our new van earlier in the year also and set about transforming her into a right proper Blast Bus

In May we ran our first group holiday to Hatteras in the USA.....what a place for a kitesurf holiday!

The Hatteras Trip!

Not everyday you get to jump over Dimitri Maremanandes

When we got back from Hatteras the summer season of lessons was in full flow and once again we had some amazing students..many of which have become great friends.

It wasn't long till our next trip to our old favourite PORTUGAL, this was possibly the best trip we have ever had there, great group, great villa in a great spot and fantastic conditions...wind every day!

We did our first presentation with a school, quite possibly the best thing we did all year with an amazing response from the children!

The kids simply could not believe the size of the kites!

The winds during the summer were a bit pants to be honest but it did give us the chance to get out on the SUP's and also we spent a few days on the Cable..a first for us but I'm sure we will be doing a lot more of this in the future

Cable Park WAkeboarding

SUP

During the summer we did manage a few weekends away in the Blast Bus...one up in N.Wales which we had excellent winds and surf!

The other weekend we had away was at the National Watersports Festival. A great chance for us to catch up with so many good friends in this crazy industry.

Soon enough the autumn was approaching which also meant that the BKSA National Wavemasters championships up in Tiree were fast approaching, we only decided to go at the last minute, when we saw the conditions they were expecting...quite simply it was EPIC!

I was lucky enough to defend the Senior Title I'd won the year before so becoming 2 x British Champion...pretty stoked!!

The autumn really kicked in then with the beaches becoming quieter and the lessons dying off it aloud us to kite more sessions on our own once again!

Unfortunately during the SKA Beginners weekend which we were teaching at, I pulled a muscle in my calf. No big deal I thought until my next session when it pulled some more, this time with excruciating pain, this happened one more time and then I couldn't even walk. I'd torn the muscle off my calf...badly apparently! Oh and only two weeks before the biggest trip of 2013....Brazil

Two weeks of intensive physio followed.

We also had the Lee Pasty Wave Clinic...which was brilliant for two reasons ............

A/. Lee did a brilliant job and every one learnt so much

B/. The storm that hit S.Wales was amazing!!

This was just the start of many crazy storms to hit the west coast of the UK

Brazil...I wasn't sure how my leg would hold up as I'd been told it would normally be two months before I should be exercising the muscle, I need not have worried.

The trip to Brazil was amazing as ever...Hot, Windy, Warm water and great company! The video gives just a small taster of what it was like (kind of)

The end of the year saw more of the storms like we had during Pasty's Wave clinic